Sweet Nightmares
by Infinite Snow
Summary: In which a young princess, shunned by her kingdom and parents, is cursed to fall into a slumber filled of nightmares on her 18th birthday. Only True Love's Kiss can awaken her, like the sorcerer prophesied. But how can a True Love's Kiss work if she herself doesn't believe in love itself? This is my slightly darker version of 'Sleeping Beauty'. [HARLEX]
1. Chapter 1

We always assumed that Sleeping Beauty was a damsel in distress, one who was cursed from birth and hidden from her loving parents for a majority of her life so she could be saved. But when she went to go in search of her prince, she had pricked her finger upon a spinning wheel and fallen deep into a slumber. Her brave knight in shining armor (who, mind you, she has never seen before but fell in love with him after a 5-minute dance in the forest), fought the villain, slain Maleficent and kissed her.

"Is how they SAID the story went," Alex huffed, rolling her eyes, and slamming the book down on her nightstand, all while she threw herself on her bed.

The REAL reality was she was no _beautiful, enticing, enamored_ princess of her kingdom, she thought bitterly. No that's only for a fairytale, as hard as that is to admit. No stupid winged creatures blessed her with beauty, no neighboring king wanted to arrange a marriage between their son and the young princess, and even her own parents were ashamed of her. The fact that she was a girl and nothing to offer to her kingdom of monetary value.

This was reality, not those made up hypes in fairy tales. Women were considered a bad luck to royal families who hoped to continue their blood line. A woman meant you had to marry her off and usually bribe the groom's family into accepting your daughter. They are seen as vacuums for your personal wealth. Justin and Max were seen as heroes while she was seen as a leech. The moment she was born, she was locked away in a basement. Almost like how Rapunzel was living in a tower most of her lives. They both spent their lives in isolation.

A soft knock sounded on her door, and it opened to reveal Harper, her maid and nanny. The only person who really didn't reel in disgust at her presence.

"I came with your food," Harper said, nervously, "You should eat something."

"Starving to death sounds wonderful right now," Alex sighed dramatically, "For a cursed girl like me."

"Don't say that," Harper admonished the young woman, "Remember what Crumbs said? A true love's kiss can save you."

"Harper, that kind of shit exists in fairytale books," Alex retorted, "No one will want to save me."

Harper huffed and retorted, "Well if you think love doesn't exist then what's with all this witchcraft and wizardry you do all the time with that stick-"

"It's called a wand, silly," Alex rolled her eyes.

"-Don't interrupt me and don't speak with your mouth full! Anyways, if all these crazy things such as magical powers, centaurs, ghosts, vampires and so much more can exist, then why not love?" Harper asked, exasperated.

"Because… when Crumbs cursed me, he did so under the pretense that love doesn't exist," Alex sighed, "He cursed me because my parents want to get rid of me."

"I think there is someone who will take you away from here, this locked up prison," Harper said after a moment of thought, "You just have to be willing to let that person in."

With that, she left, allowing Alex to ponder on her words. But when she couldn't dissect the meaning of her sentences, the raven-haired girl simply snorted and blew away a hair from her face.

"True love exists… but not for me," Alex decided.

The food was cold, mushy and overall just unappealing. Alex detested it, not in the fact that it tasted bad, because rest assured, Harper cooked her meals with precision. But it was more so the fact that it kept her living in this world. In a society which viewed her as a commodity than a real human.

She was even sure that some people in her own kingdom didn't know she existed. Some thought she was a miscarried child the Queen lost a couple of years ago. Some thought she was a baby who was kidnapped by a pack of cheetahs and grew up to be a feral child, just like Mogli in Jungle Book. All of those were untrue but they were products of lies spread by her parents to hide the shame of giving birth to a girl. It really was a punch in the gut.

Alex wondered about so many things. She wondered what the outside world looked like. She wondered how bright the sun was, and she wondered if it could damage your eyes if you looked at it too much. She wanted to visit those picturesque illustrations in her books, run around free and roll in the grass. She wanted to drink water straight from a stream and climb a tree. So many things the villagers in her kingdom did on a regular basis but she was still envious of them for it.

"But who would want to rescue me, anyways? It's not like some prince is gonna pop out of nowhere to save me," Alex shrugged.

Just as this young princess lamented her fate and her limited days until her 18th birthday, in the poorer part of her kingdom was a small, shabby village. Crime rates were high with homicide, rape and abuse a common occurrence in public.

A little boy had been caught trying to salvage the scraps of food from the nearby dumpster and got whacked on the head by the restaurant owner and was told to go home. He sighed and picked up his glasses from the ground and placed them on, glad that they didn't get chipped or cracked.

It was an unsuccessful day of salvaging food to eat for dinner, since Uncle Vernon threw him meager scraps for dinner. It wasn't enough to support his starving form, so he decided to sneak out while his foster parents and stepbrother were asleep to go scavenger for more food. Heaven forbid if he politely begged for more scraps; the beatings he got the first time he did so marked the last time he ever asked for more from them.

He crawled through the doggy door of the front house door and deftly padded to his small room which rested underneath the stairs of the house. It was not spacious but it was enough for him, really. He could've been given the basement and sleep within the rows of wine of his uncle's wine cellar that he had as a part of his business. He wouldn't want to wake up to find rats nibbling on his toes and fingers. A disgusted shiver worked its way up his frame.

Harry sat down on his bed and sadly looked at his family photo with his mother and father. Lily and James were happily cradling their only son within their arms. Every few seconds Lilly would sneak a kiss on top of Harry's head and James would tickle the baby's sides, eliciting a giggle. A couple of tears rolled down his cheeks as he sadly remembered he could hardly remember his own parents. Thanks to some mysterious giant named Hagrid, he knew he is a wizard and his parents did NOT die in a car crash.

But really, he could just practice magic in secrecy, since there was no school to go to (In this fanfic, Hogwarts doesn't exist and Voldemort is just some minor villain who only seek revenge against his parents). He swore his uncle and aunt hated magic so much because of his mother, because once they caught him practicing magic during the day in his own bedroom instead of cooking lunch he got a huge punishment.

" _Lumos,"_ Harry whispered and the tip of his wand lit up, almost like a flashlight. This night, he wasn't particularly interested in practicing magic. He was more interested in reading a fairytale. Thumbing through his books, he settled on Sleeping Beauty.

He just looked through the pages of the old gilded book. The illustrations were pretty and he wondered if the rumors were true, that the King and Queen had a baby girl? But no one knew because rumors circulated about her some said she was dead, some said she escaped to live in the jungle and some said she had gone insane and was sent to a mental asylum.

He wondered if this 'Aurora' was as beautiful as she was in the books: beautiful golden hair, pale skin, lips the color of roses, beautiful blue eyes and a voice that could be sweeter than sugar.

But even if she is that beautiful, he wondered why would the king and queen be so ashamed of her? Why would they lock her up? Wouldn't neighboring kings and queens be stumbling over each other to arrange a marriage between her and one of their sons?

He never knew but one thing is for sure: he would've loved to have met someone to be friends with. Maybe this Aurora is as lonely as he is. Maybe she's misunderstood like he is. Maybe she has magical powers like he does. Maybe they could sympathize with each other and talk about how unfairly they get treated. Maybe they could run away from this hell and never look back.

There were a lot of things that only just ended with one word: Maybe. He would never know what it would be like to be in love especially when he's too busy trying not to get beaten to death by his uncle and aunt as well as his cousin (who is as fat as a pig).

An hour or two passed and he decided he couldn't sleep anymore. Then he decided to just get up and go outside, but froze in his tracks when he heard someone arguing in the living room, not too far from his own room. It was his aunt and uncle.

"We're running low on money, Petunia, what should we do?" Vernon yelled.

"This house is all we have, we can't give that to the tax collectors!" Pentunia screamed.

"Maybe we can sell something else," Vernon said after a moment of thinking.

Petunia gasped in horror and snarled, "If you are thinking of giving those monsters our precious little Dudley, then I'll-"

"Not our sweet little Duddly-kins!" Vernon roared, the nickname making Harry mentally puke, "I meant that scrawny boy we have living in our house!"

"But why would you want to sell him? He cooks and cleans for us," Petunia argued.

"He doesn't pay rent for us; therefore, he should be sold," Vernon argued, "It doesn't matter that he does all the housework. Sometimes that's not enough to contribute to the household."

"I guess," Petunia said hesitantly and said, "I guess we'll hand him over tomorrow morning when the tax collectors come."

"See? Problem solved," Vernon said jovially, "We still have our house and Duddly-kins. All is good."

"Let's go to sleep now," Petunia suggested, "They will come bright and early tomorrow morning."

Harry held his breath as the two padded up the stairs and closed the door behind them. He knew now that he couldn't stay in this house any longer. He didn't know what they would do if they found him, and he honestly wouldn't be willing to sacrifice himself just so Dudley could have a comfortable lifestyle, not when those monsters beat him to death a couple of times. They deserved to suffer as much as he did.

So, he took a worn-out backpack, and used a charm that would make the backpack bottomless; a charm that his friend Hermione taught him before she moved away along with Ron. It basically made his backpack able to fit anything and there was no limit to how much he could put in it. He stuffed everything in his backpack except his bed, nightstand and closet. After his room was bare and clean, he slid out the doggy door of the house and then apparated (another difficult spell he had to learn on his own), to a forest.

It was a strange forest, and he honestly didn't know where he was. From the signs surrounding him, he wasn't too far from the kingdom, maybe on the outskirts. But he was most definitely lost, and he would never in a million years go to his old home, one filled of abuse, neglect and near-death experiences.

He was aimlessly walking when he came upon a girl his age of 15, running through the forest barefoot. She looked like a person from the noble class. From her well-developed frame, silk nightdress and gold jewelry, she fit the aristocratic image.

She froze when she saw him, panicked and ran into the forest, deeper and deeper. Suddenly he didn't want to be alone and so he decided to go after her, yelling, "WAIT! WAIT FOR ME!"

 **TBC…**


	2. Chapter 2

"Wait!" Harry yelled as he chased the young girl into the forest, "Wait! I promise not to hurt you!"

"Yeah, that's what every villager I came across, said!" The young girl yelled sarcastically over her shoulder. Sticking out her middle finger at him momentarily, she continued her pursuit to get deeper into the forest.

"I'm also running away from someone too!" Harry yelled, hoping to gain some of her trust, "Maybe not from who you are trying to escape, but nonetheless I am on the run!"

"So what benefit is it going to bring me to team up with you?" The girl snapped, screeching to a halt, turning around and clasping her hands on her waist.

Harry took cautious, slow steps; it was almost like trying to gain a Hippogriff's trust. Sticking out his hand slowly and carefully, he said in a low tone, "Being my partner in crime means I will not rat you out. Even if they capture me."

"Yeah right, when it's your life on the line, anyone will become traitors for the sake of being alive," the girl scoffed in disbelief.

"Not with me," Harry promised.

The girl sighed, but furrowed her eyebrows in suspicion as she carefully eyed the boy and asked, "Who are you? Where are you from?"

"I'm Harry Potter," Harry explained, "I ran away from home."

"Me too. But why did you run away?" The girl asked in interest.

"Well, I wouldn't call my home really a home," Harry said warily, "You see, my parents died when I was a baby. They were murdered by some serial killer, Voldemort. Then I was sent to live with my aunt and uncle from my mother's side of the family. Simply being my mother's son, they detested me and treated me like trash. While they lavish their son, they ordered me around the house like a servant. Then an hour ago, I overheard them talking about selling me to tax collectors to pay off their debts. I ran away because I don't want to be sold into slavery."

"I'm sorry," the girl said quietly, feeling guilt consume her chest; she felt bad for assuming the worst of this boy when she literally never saw her in her life.

Harry smiled and offered his hand again and said, "It's all good. How about we become friends?"

The girl looked at his hand for a couple of seconds before hesitantly resting her tiny hand into his. They shook briefly and retracted their hands, as if static electricity zapped their fingers.

"What's your name?" Harry asked.

"Alex Russo. My name is Alexandra Margarita Russo, but my parents were so happy for a boy they initially named me Alex. It got lengthened when my true biological gender was known," Alex said in distaste.

"Wait…Russo? Are you that princess of the rumors?" Harry said, once recognition clicked in his brain at the mention of her last name.

"Yeah, was locked for 15 years, my whole life," Alex shrugged, "I just mastered the teleportation spell wizards use and I escaped my dingy basement. Oh! I'm sure you have no idea what I am blabbing about."

She was so scared he would think she's crazy for believing she had magical powers; a part of her told her to run before he kidnaps her and turns her in to a mental asylum. But all thoughts went out the window when a large smile snuck its way up his face.

"You're a wizard?" Harry asked excitedly.

"Please don't be mad at me…" Alex trailed off.

He started laughing, but not in a mocking way. His laughter was light, carefree, happy and joyful. She decided she liked the sound of his laughter. All thoughts about his laugh were thrown out the window when he scooped her into a hug and briefly swung her around, making her blush profusely.

"I'm sorry, I am just so happy that someone is a wizard like me. I have been shunned for being different from muggles," Harry said.

"Muggles?" Alex asked.

"Non-magic folk," Harry explained.

She nodded then looked around where they were and spoke up, "Ok nice to know I met you, but maybe we should get going somewhere with shelter."

"About that, I teleported to this forest and was walking around aimlessly," Harry said, scratching his head, "I don't know where we are."

"Oh, you don't know?" Alex asked in surprise, "This is the Forbidden Forest."

"What a fitting name," Harry said sarcastically.

"I am not kidding, they call it that because this forest isn't your typical forest," Alex briefly explained, "Magical creatures reside here."

"Like what? Nargles?" Harry asked.

"No, those are clumped around mistletoes," Alex said, "I mean all out, like centaurs and stuff."

"What should we do?" Harry wondered.

Alex pointed to a gravel path not too far from where the two stood, "Maybe we should walk along that path. Maybe we can run into a hut or something."

The two walked on the paved road until they saw some kind of cottage in the distance. Harry suggested that they knock on the door and he handed the invisibility cloak. He instructed her to only remove it once the person gives his or her oath not to report the princess back to the King and Queen.

Harry knocked on the door and after hearing some noises of struggle within the cozy cottage, the door swung open to reveal Hagrid. His annoyed face melted away into a happy one as he scooped up Harry into a big bear hug.

"Harry! 'Ave missed ye!" Hagrid bellowed.

"Hagrid, I have a favor to ask you," Harry said when Hagrid set him down, "Well… make that two."

"Tell me," Hagrid said eagerly, leaning forward in interest.

"Well, the first one is, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia were talking about their debt to tax collectors and how they wanted to hand me over to pay them off. So, I ran away. And I need a permanent home to stay at," Harry said, "I flashed into the forest and walked on the gravel pathway and came upon your hut."

Hagrid's expression darkened at the audacity of Vernon and Petunia to wish to sell Harry, but nonetheless nodded and asked, "I can do that. And what's your other request?"

"Well, I ran into this girl in the forest…and it turns out she's the princess who's the butt of all the rumors," Harry said, "Turns out her parents are locking her in the basement her whole life and only now did she perfect the spell for teleportation and got out of her room. I don't know if she will stay with us for good or if she will go back. But can she have a bed in my room so she always has a place to stay?"

Hagrid's eyes bulged out but nodded anyways and asked, "Where is she, anyways?"

"Right here," Alex said and removed the cloak from her head, "Sorry Harry."

Hagrid's eyes widened even further, if it was even possible. It seems like he had met the princess before, as noted by Harry, by the way the giant man was shaking in her presence.

"T-The princess…" Hagrid gasped and bowed at Alex's feet.

"Hagrid, you can stand and no need to be so formal with me," Alex motioned for Hagrid to stand up.

"I don't get it what brings ye here?" Hagrid asked once he settled into his seat.

"My basement got too stuffy," Alex sighed in irritation, "And mind you, I have never seen what the outside world looks like. All I had ever known was my basement. I don't even know what my own kingdom looks like."

"Never walked down the hallways of yer own palace?" Hagrid asked.

"Nope. The moment I was born I was dumped into the arms of my nanny and mother-like figure Harper Finkle, who raised me my whole life," Alex said.

"Then they shouldn't be too worried that you're here," Harry said.

"That may be true, but who knows? My parents might be scared that I escaped and prove their rumors to be false, which should be stupid because no one has ever seen me," Alex shrugged, "Hagrid, just promise me to lie to the guards if they come knocking on your door? Pretty please? And if you do so for me, I can help you in any way financially."

Hagrid looked at Harry's pleading face and sighed. Rubbing his forehead, he said, "I guess ye can stay. And don't worry about the money. Any friend of Harry's is a friend of mine."

Alex grinned and hugged Harry, whispering in his ear, "Thank you so much!"

"I will have yer room for ye, which will be shared with Harry's. I will try to adopt Harry legally, so he won't ever have to worry about being sold into slavery or somethin'. Also, if ye want to ever escape yer dingy basement, just teleport straight to yer room here. And do not leave the cottage. I know it sounds like imprisonment but if the guards find ye they can drag ye back," Hagrid said sternly.

"Anything is better than my filthy room in the basement!" Alex laughed and said, "Harry, let's race to your room!"

Watching the two children bulk it for their shared room, Hagrid shook his head in amusement and sat in his chair by the fireplace, wondering how the hell the King and Queen treat their daughter like shit.

It all happened so quickly. Harry was legally adopted by Hagrid, meaning the Dursley's had to sell their house and become homeless beggars (because Harry escaped and that means their mode of payment was gone).

Alex would come for a few days at a time and leave, afraid the guards would come hunting her down. But then when she found out that her parents could honestly care less, she would stay months at a time before going back to her horrible basement of a room, out of concern for Harper. Harper was the only one in the castle who truly cared for her.

However, as the years passed, Alex's happy demeanor melted away to show her anxious, sad and even a little fidgety. Harry noticed and led her to their bedroom and motioned for her to sit on his bed. Climbing in after her, he asked, "Something is bothering you. What's wrong?"

"My 18th birthday is coming up in 6 months," Alex said miserably, "And I am dreading it."

Now this statement threw him off. How can someone dread their own birthday? Well he did, but he didn't like his birthdays because the Dursley thought he could do 'extra chores' for his special day of the year while Dudley got lavished with hundreds of gifts (and the number of gifts grew exponentially each year). But now that he lives with Hagrid, he actually enjoys his birthday. He gets a homemade cake, a feast of food and two presents: one from Hagrid and one from Alex. Alex, too, got a mini celebration of her own just like Harry. So why would she dread her next one as well?

"Because I was born a girl, and not a boy, my parents wanted to get rid of me. But they can't murder me or hire someone to murder me. People would suspect they did so. So, they asked a local sorcerer specialized in the dark arts to cast a spell on me. He cursed me to eternal sleep that can only be awoken by a True Love's Kiss once I prick my finger on a spinning wheel," Alex said, "But there is a catch to this curse."

"What is the catch?" Harry asked, feeling dread creep up on him too as he listened to her words.

"The catch is two things. First, I can't simply avoid a spinning wheel. Once midnight strikes the day of my birthday, I will be under some kind of spell. Essentially, I will sleepwalk until I prick my finger on a spinning wheel. The second one is that he laid this curse upon me under the pretense that he doesn't believe in true love," Alex said, "So if he doesn't believe in true love, then how can a true love's kiss wake me up?"

"He's a villain, obviously," Harry said, taking her hand, "Villains don't believe in love like we do. Love, it's the magic that muggles possess. It doesn't matter whether you can wield magic or not. Love is a different power of magic that one can't manipulate by any means. Sure, you could create a love potion but it's useless compared to pure love."

"You sound like you love somebody," Alex said, feeling jealous at who the lucky girl could be on the receiving end of his affections.

Harry kissed her forehead and hugged her close, "You don't need to feel jealous. It has always been you. And if I have to, I will fight my way through just to make sure you wake up. I will die fighting for you."

With that, he sealed his promise with a kiss on the lips. A promise, that in 6 months, he would come and make sure she woke up to see another day of her life.


	3. Chapter 3

_The clock struck 12, on the day of July 22._

The young maiden's eyes flew open the moment the two hands joined together on the clock tower. Thus, starting the curse. Her normal chocolate brown eyes glowed an eerily emerald green.

She got out of her bed, and for once managed to not falling face flat like she always does when she wakes up in the morning. Holding her hands in front of her, Alex sauntered out of the room in some sort of sleepwalking haze. Harper, who witnessed her walk out of her bed, knew her end was near. The curse would send her into an eternal sleep that would never wake her up. And who knows what kind of paid assassin commissioned by the King and Queen would murder her in her sleep?

Harper dashed towards the crystal ball and was thankful Alex taught her how to use it as a mode of communication. And she was happy that this 'Harry' boy she was told about had a crystal ball too, being a wizard like Alex.

"Show me Harry!" Harper yelled.

The crystal ball went static to show the insides of a cottage house. This must be where he lives, she assumed. Instantly, she started yelling like a maniac, "HARRY! HARRY? HARRY, WHERE ARE YOU?!"

He came running out of his room at the sound of Harper's voice and ran towards the crystal ball, saying, "What's wrong? Is Alex alright?"

"Zip it, scrawny twig, I don't have all day!" Harper snapped, "She's under the effects of the curse! She woke up not too long ago, and is walking towards the spindle. After she pricks her finger, she will fall asleep but so will the whole kingdom."

"Wait…even the King and Queen?" Harry asked, worried.

"Yes, that's part of the kingdom, genius!" Harper barked.

"But I thought they would want only her to be asleep, as horrible as that sounds!" Harry yelled.

Harper laughed humorlessly as she said, "Do you think sorcerers are so simple minded? Obviously Crumbs wants to rule the kingdom! His plan was to fool her parents into thinking that it would only be her going under the curse. When the whole kingdom falls asleep he conspires to kill the Royal Family in cold blood and then 'wake' everyone up, and erase their memories, instead making them believe he is their new king! You have to hurry, Harry! He's going to guard the castle that Alex sleeps in!"

Suddenly a loud boom sounded and Harper started to become sleepy. Hearing Harry's panicked yells, she knew one thing. Alex had pricked her finger onto the spinning wheel. And thus the curse was in full effect.

"Save…her…Harry," Harper mumbled before knocking out in front of the crystal ball, fast asleep like the rest of the kingdom.

Alex had slumped to the ground, unconscious after pricking her finger on the spindle. Crumbs walked into the room once he felt the sensation of the curse taking full effect. He picked the girl up and set her onto the bed. His plan was simple, to kill her parents. Whether he would kill her or not, was undecided. But if he could wipe her memories out, he could just leave her to be in an eternal sleep, which is way worse than just a simple mercy killing.

Yes, that would be so much better. A cruel smile slid onto his face as Crumbs slipped a fresh rose in between her hands and whispered, "Sweet nightmares, my dearest."

He turned around and laughed as he left the room. The evil, sinister, green glow of the spindle illuminating the room long after the sorcerer left.

Harry watched in utter horror as Harper collapsed into a deep sleep in front of him through the crystal ball. Turning around, he saw Hagrid who was watching the two frantically yell at each other. His face was grim, and even through his bushy beard, Harry knew he was frowning. Alex had grown on Hagrid to the point the giant considered her his daughter like he considered Harry his son.

"Ye should go save 'er, 'Arry," Hagrid said after a moment of deliberation.

"Really?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Why would you be surprised? Of course, I want you to! She's not only special to ye! She means a lot to me! So get yer ass out there and save the princess!" Hagrid yelled, shoving Harry out the door.

After slamming the door in his face, Hagrid opened it once more to thrust the invisibility cloak at Harry before slamming it again.

Harry started running towards the castle when he remembered he brought his wand with him and that he's a wizard. He can save so much time by using a teleportation spell to the castle!

However, his magic only got him so far. The teleportation spell got him to the front of the tower, where Alex was said to have pricked her finger on the spindle. At the bottom of the tower was supposed to be the basement where she awoke and walked to the top of the staircase and pricked her finger.

Surrounding the tower was a large thicket of prickly bushes. Seemed normal. Harry was confused why his magic didn't teleport him to her room. When he tried to teleport again, he realized why.

"You stupid little wizard," Crumbs cackled, revealing himself, "You thought I wouldn't have thought this out through? I created a barrier which within it you can't use magic."

"Crud," Harry cursed to himself and quickly covered himself with the veil. Luckily, Crumbs didn't see him and shrugged, thinking the suitor ran away after one unsuccessful attempt.

He then tried to walk forward, however the ground turned into a booby trap. What once was a simple cobblestone pathway leading to the thorny shrubs surrounding the moat of the tower, turned into deadly spikes that could impale any unsuspecting person.

" _Wingardium leviosa!"_ Harry hissed under his breath, thankful for all the times Hermione had badgered him and Ron to correctly pronounce the spell, or else it wouldn't work.

" _It's quite simple, actually," Hermione snobbishly said, and pointed her wand to a feather that a bird had shed, "Wingardium leviosa."_

 _The feather fluttered slowly from the ground and gently followed the directional movements of the tip of her wand. Ron scoffed and started to mimic the pronunciation._

" _Oh my god, Ron, get it right! It's wingardium levios-AH!" Ron mocked in a flowery voice which was way higher pitched and nasally than Hermione's voice._

 _Hermione whacked him on the back of his head and seethed, "Ron, quit being a bloody git! It's important you get this pronunciation correct or else the spell won't work!"_

" _Yeah right, when will I ever be in a life or death situation that I will need a spell to fly?" Ron asked._

"How about right now?" Harry mumbled, answering Ron's question quietly.

Crumbs turned around again and was annoyed to find, for the second time that night, that no one was there. But someone had to be there, or else the booby trap wouldn't have been activated. But nonetheless, someone could have used magic. Starting with the bush, the magical barrier worked.

"I know someone is there. Reveal yourself! No mask of invisibility can work inside my barrier!" Crumbs roared.

Sure enough, the moment he got to the bushes, his invisibility cloak didn't work anymore. He stuffed it into his backpack, knowing its usefulness has come to an end. But he would never ditch it; it is one of the few things he has that reminds him of his parents.

"You think you, a scrawny little twig, are a match to my superb powers?" Crumbs cackled at his insult, "You won't make it past the bushes."

"We'll see about that," Harry snapped and ran straight for the bushes.

But, before he could set one foot inside the maze, a hat dropped from the sky and perched on his head. "What do you think you're doing, you fool?" The wizard hat screeched.

"Who are you and how did you find me?" Harry asked, annoyed."

"I am called the 'Sorting Hat'. Why? I have no idea. But I was sent here by Hagrid," the hat explained.

Harry rolled his eyes and snapped, "Oh, sure, I know you're here to annoy me!"

The hat, annoyed, whacked the teenager on his forehead, right on the scar. Satisfied with the pained yelp he elicited from the teenager, the hat said, "No. I am here to give you something. Can help you with your next obstacle?"

"I sure could use a weapon," Harry sulked.

The hat floated in the air and beckoned Harry to reach for something within it. Hesitantly, he reached into the hat and was astonished to find out it had a bottomless charm on it. Sticking his whole arm inside, he rummaged around until he could feel the familiar feel of the hilt of a sword. Wrapping his fingers around it, he yanked it out of the hat.

"Sword of Godric Gryffindor. Only a true Gryffindor could pull it out. You must be brave and daring enough to want to save her," the hat commented.

Harry looked at the hat with grim resolution and said, "I am doing this because I love her."

The hat smirked and whacked him on the back of his head again and said, "Well, what are you waiting for? Go, you impudent fool!"

Watching the hat float off into the sky, Harry set his eyes onto the maze. To his astonishment, the maze wasn't an assortment of prickly bushes forming a straight uniform pathway. No, it was growing arms of prickly needles that could whack him at any moment. Taking a deep breath, he stepped in.

He was mostly successful in cutting most of the branches that came for him. A couple of them nicked him on his arms and legs, but none of them slashed the major arteries of his body. By the time he finally got to the other side, he could feel the blazing heat of fire. And he knew his obstacles weren't over.

Suddenly, a shield fell from the sky and Harry had to catch it before it knocked him out unconscious. He glared at the Sorting Hat which was observing him from far above in the sky.

"Thought you might need that!" The hat hollered.

"Thanks, mate. How about actually helping me?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"Nah, I'll pass," the hat shrugged.

Harry growled, "How useful."

He then ran across the bridge to where the dragon was waiting. He quickly realized, from the silvery-grey scales of the dragon, that it was Crumbs. Crumbs had transformed himself into a dragon as a last-resort way to destroy him.

The dragon was wildly shooting balls of fire in random directions. Harry used his shield to block the fire balls that came his way. Running to the foot of the dragon, he stabbed it with his sword. The dragon cried out in pain and made a blind swipe at him with the injured foot.

Harry jumped back and narrowly escaped the limb swiped in his direction. Catching an arm coming in his way to kill him, he quickly sliced it off with his sword. The right arm of the dragon fell into the water of the moat surrounding the castle.

A horrendous screech left the snout of the hideous beast as it fell forward on the side that the limb was chopped off. Harry saw the left arm in the clearing and swiped it off too. With both arms hacked off, the dragon had no way to get up. Defeated, it decided to squash Harry to death by rolling. But as it rolled onto it's back, Harry climbed up its legs and stabbed it in the heart before the dragon could roast him to death with his fire.

Crumbs let out a strangled cry before going completely limp on the cold hard stone floor. Harry climbed off of him quickly and ran up the stairs of the castle. Walking to the top of the stairs, he saw the door slightly ajar and could hear agonized screams of someone he knew all too well. Alex was submerged into sleep full of nightmares, as a part of Crumb's curse.

He ran over and caught both her wrists in his hands. Quickly, he swooped down and kissed her briefly on the lips. Hoping her nightmares would end.

She calmed down, but a few tears trickled down her cheeks. Wiping them away, he waited patiently until she woke up. The moment her brown eyes locked on his, he didn't wait to kiss her square on the lips.

"What did I tell you? Of course True Love is full well and true!" Harry exclaimed.

Alex opened her mouth to answer but stopped cold when she saw her parents in the doorway, with displeased looks on their faces. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

 **To be continued…**


End file.
